A blog with snarky poems and rhyming rants about politicians, pundits, and other putrid people and events that give me heart palpatations--as well as light verse about various and sundry other things.
All content (c) 2009-2010 Elaine Magliaro. All rights reserved.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Christians are now organizing a boycott against businesses that fail to wish everyone “Merry Christmas” or use that offensive greeting “Happy Holidays.” Stores are being monitored and blacklisted for just wishing everyone “Happy Holidays” instead of referencing Christmas specifically.

Here’s another poem I wrote. It isn’t meant to be disrespectful. It’s meant to speak to the commercialization of Christmas…and to the folks who waste countless hours monitoring and rating stores in regard to their “Christmas” spirit.

Now Mary buys at Wal-Mart…Joseph at J. C. Penney.The Child is just a little babe—He doesn’t shop at any.

The Magi frequent Target.The shepherds like Lands’ End.Thank heavens Stand for ChristmasHas some stores to recommend.

If it's December, then there must be frost in the air, gingerbread in the oven, and ... right on time, Bill O'Reilly and the other defenders of Christmas bemoaning the prevalence of "Happy Holidays" - rather than "Merry Christmas" - greetings.

There's a war on Christmas, O'Reilly recently reminded viewers, driven by those who "loathe the baby Jesus." This season, a holiday-dÉcor company is marketing the CHRIST-mas Tree, a bushy artificial tree with a giant cross where the trunk should be. And the Colorado-based Focus on the Family is continuing its Stand for Christmas campaign to highlight the offenses of Christmas-denying retailers. The campaign was launched, according to its website, because "citizens across the nation were growing dissatisfied with the tendency of corporations to omit references to Christmas from holiday promotions." (See TIME's photoessay "Have a Very Ridiculous Christmas.")

But to a growing group of Christians, this focus on the commercial aspect of Christmas is itself the greatest threat to one of Christianity's holiest days. "It's the shopping, the going into debt, the worrying that if I don't spend enough money, someone will think I don't love them," says Portland pastor Rick McKinley. "Christians get all bent out of shape over the fact that someone didn't say 'Merry Christmas' when I walked into the store. But why are we expecting the store to tell our story? That's just ridiculous."

Saturday, December 5, 2009

“Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus has admitted that he was romantically involved with a former staffer when he recommended her earlier this year to become the next U.S. attorney for Montana. Baucus only recently separated from his second wife, Ty Matsdorf, and had a romantic relationship with his former staffer Melodee Hanes starting in the summer of 2008. He nominated her for the appointment in March but they later agreed to withdraw the nomination when they moved into the same house.”

At a covert forward operating base run by the US Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, members of an elite division of Blackwater are at the center of a secret program in which they plan targeted assassinations of suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives, "snatch and grabs" of high-value targets and other sensitive action inside and outside Pakistan, an investigation by The Nation has found. The Blackwater operatives also assist in gathering intelligence and help direct a secret US military drone bombing campaign that runs parallel to the well-documented CIA predator strikes, according to a well-placed source within the US military intelligence apparatus.

The source, who has worked on covert US military programs for years, including in Afghanistan and Pakistan, has direct knowledge of Blackwater's involvement. He spoke to The Nation on condition of anonymity because the program is classified. The source said that the program is so "compartmentalized" that senior figures within the Obama administration and the US military chain of command may not be aware of its existence.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Educators at the Rosewood Middle School had struggled with raising money. Candy and other traditional items did not generate much money for the Goldsboro, North Carolina school. Then they found a commodity that the public was hankering for: they started to sell grades. Until, that is, a bunch of do gooders stepped in and objected.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

From Jonathan Turley’s blog (11/10/2009)It appears that you have missed your chance to participate in the annual Dead Rabbit Throw competition in New Zealand. Animal welfare activists seem to have found it somehow distasteful to have families try to throw dead rabbits the farthest.

The annual “Rabbit Throw” was held in the town of Waiau but was cancelled after a concerted campaign by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). Organiser Jo Moriarty claims banning the bunny contest is “political correctness gone mad”.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

(MYFOX NATIONAL, 11/02/2009) - A Wisconsin woman called 911 to report a drunk driver. It turned out that she identified the driver as herself.

According to the released 911 tape, Mary Strey of Granton, Wisc., called the emergency number on Oct. 24 at about 11:20 p.m. and reported "Somebody's really drunk driving down GrantonRoad."

The dispatcher tried to determine which way the reported driver was headed and asked Strey "Okay are you behind them, or..."Strey responded, "No, I am them."The dispatcher verified, "You am them?""Yes, I am them," replied Strey."Okay, so you want to call and report that you're driving drunk?" confirmed the dispatcher."Yes," Strey answered.

Yellow mustard, ketchup, and relish—The condiments we add to embellishA naked frank…to enhance its flavorBefore we take a bite and savorA luscious link in a toasted bun.BUTDon’t filch a frank when armed with a gun—And eat it sloppily on the run.Don’t be a gluttonous simpleton.Don’t let that yellow mustard splatter.Stealing dogs is a serious matter!Before you grab that tasty wurstMake sure you have a napkin first.THENTuck it under your chin and eatAnd try to avoid the cop on the beat.

Some true stories are just so bizarre that they inspire me to write poetry.

Paean to a Bovine Beauty

I’m in love, I’m in loveWith a creature divine…A ruminant fair.How I wish she were mine.She’s a sweet, lowing voice.She’s got limpid brown eyes.She swishes her sleek tailAt hovering flies.She’s a beauteous bovine,A cow of great charm.I’ve been trying to court herOut here on the farm.

Took his pal HarryOut hunting for wildfowl,But shot at his good friendInstead of the grouse.

(Note: I know that Dick and Harry were shooting at quail—but I like the louse/grouse rhyming word pair. Just a little poetic license.)

Here’s another Dick Cheney hunting poem that I posted previously at Political Verses.

A Hunting He Will Go

Who’s hunting here? I think I know.That’s why I’m certain I must go.Don’t want to get shot by mistakeBecause he thinks that I’m a doe.I hear his voice. He’s coming near.Oh, Lord! I know I’ve much to fear.I best be sprightly on my feetAnd get the HELL out of here!His rifle’s raised; he’s taking aim.“I’m a human being!” I exclaim.“Hey! Can’t you see I’m not a deer?”(Guess he’s decided I’m fair game.)Forsooth! Alas! He walks my way.I guess this ain’t my lucky day.I do not want to be his prey.I do not want to be his prey.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Forget attacking liberal bias in Hollywood or in the media. One group says it's the Bible that's gotten too progressive.

The Conservative Bible Project is leading the charge to deliberalize the Bible by using a Wikipedia-like Web site to correct what it calls "errors in conveying biblical meaning."

Those errors are a "lack of precision in the original language, such as terms underdeveloped to convey new concepts introduced by Christ," "lack of precision in modern language" and "translation bias in converting the original language to the modern one."

On its Web site - which is emblazoned with an Old Glory logo above the words "The Trustworthy Encyclopedia" - the group is seeking to create a fully conservative translation of the Bible that follows 10 commandments, er, guidelines.

A Poem about the Conservative Bible Projectby Elaine Magliaro

The Bible’s way too liberal—And nothing could be worse.Let’s go rewrite the holy book—Each chapter, line and verse.

We’ll tell the stories “our way”—Toss out the liberal bias—The way the good Lord wants us to.The devil can’t deny us.

The Great Book that we live by.We’ll write the stories “right”—Translate them “fundamentally”To conservatives’ delight.

***************

From Conservapedia: As of 2009, there is no fully conservative translation of the Bible which satisfies the following ten guidelines:[2]

1. Framework against Liberal Bias: providing a strong framework that enables a thought-for-thought translation without corruption by liberal bias

2. Not Emasculated: avoiding unisex, "gender inclusive" language, and other modern emasculation of Christianity

3. Not Dumbed Down: not dumbing down the reading level, or diluting the intellectual force and logic of Christianity; the NIV is written at only the 7th grade level[3]

4. Utilize Powerful Conservative Terms: using powerful new conservative terms as they develop;[4] defective translations use the word "comrade" three times as often as "volunteer"; similarly, updating words which have a change in meaning, such as "word", "peace", and "miracle".

5. Combat Harmful Addiction: combating addiction by using modern terms for it, such as "gamble" rather than "cast lots";[5] using modern political terms, such as "register" rather than "enroll" for the census

6. Accept the Logic of Hell: applying logic with its full force and effect, as in not denying or downplaying the very real existence of Hell or the Devil.

8. Exclude Later-Inserted Liberal Passages: excluding the later-inserted liberal passages that are not authentic, such as the adulteress story

9. Credit Open-Mindedness of Disciples: crediting open-mindedness, often found in youngsters like the eyewitnesses Mark and John, the authors of two of the Gospels

10. Prefer Conciseness over Liberal Wordiness: preferring conciseness to the liberal style of high word-to-substance ratio; avoid compound negatives and unnecessary ambiguities; prefer concise, consistent use of the word "Lord" rather than "Jehovah" or "Yahweh" or "Lord God."

Julie Larios, an award-winning poet, read my poem and decided to write her own double dactyl on the same subject. She left her poem in the comments. Julie gave me permission to post it at Political Verses. Thanks, Julie! It’s a clever double dactyl.

NOTE: In order to truly appreciate Julie’s poem, you should read the post at Professor Turley’s blog.

A Double Dactylby Julie Larios

Jiggery Pokery, Warriors are winners! Boo the Beatitudes, losers are lame. Even if we play mostFort-Oglethorpishly,God's on our side, kids, so He'll throw the game.

Monday, October 12, 2009

I’m a big fan of Law Professor Jonathan Turley’s blog. Turley posts some very interesting stories. Some of the stories even inspire me to write poetry. After reading the following post at his blog, I wrote a double dactyl—which you’ll find at the bottom of this post.

This week, the Catoosa County School Board in Ringgold, Georgia will meet on a controversy over the cheerleaders of Georgia’s Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School who use Biblical verses as part of their displays to root for the football team to “commit to the Lord” and “take courage and do it.”

Monday, September 28, 2009

I think Sarah Palin may have poetic competition. She’s not the only conservative with a lyrical sensibility when it comes to written language. Peggy Noonan could certainly give the ex-governor of Alaska a run for her money in the “prose to poetry” category. Poor scribe that I am, I can’t turn a phrase or manipulate words with the delicate finesse that Noonan, a former speechwriter for the late President Reagan can.

When reading Noonan’s description of Session One of her study group, I realized the woman was truly a poet at heart. I broke up her prose paragraph into shorter lines—and VOILA!!!—found a free verse poem to read and savor.

Who I am.Where I am from.What I have done.My career.Being a speechwriter for Ronald Reagan;being young at CBS Newswhen it too was young,and the Tiffany Network,and carried itself like the greatest army in the world,with spirit and elan and pride,and not a small amount of conceit.Being youngand suddenly a colleague of Walter Cronkite“the most trusted man in America”;writing a daily commentary show for Walter’s successoras anchor of the Evening News,Dan Rather.Being taught to write by the menwho were taught to write for radioby a gentleman named Ed Murrow,the inventor of broadcast news.

Oh, if only I could pen poetry as lyrical as Peggy’s! The great speechwriter/political pundit inspired me to attempt my own free verse poem, Onward to a Teacher’s Life.

Onward to a Teacher’s Lifeby Elaine Magliaro(In the style of Peggy Noonan)

Who am I?Where am I from?What have I done?Questions I ask myself.My career.Being an educator;writing lesson plans,writing letters home to parents,writing on the blackboard.Being an elementary grade teacherwhen I was young,when my students were much younger than Iand ran around the schoolyard at recesslike a herd of wild mustangs,their nostrils flaring,their sneakered hoofs kicking up dust.Being youngand suddenly a colleague of older teacherswho watched Walter Cronkite,“the most trusted man in America,”on the Evening News.Being taught to teach by older teacherswho had been taught to teachby even older teachers,who had read of Plato,an old Greek philosopher and teacher,who had lived long beforethe invention of broadcast news.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Here is a revised version of a poem that I wrote in 2007 when there was a big kerfuffle going on over The Higher Power of Lucky, the children's novel that had won the Newbery Medal. You see, Susan Patron, the author, used the word "scrotum" in her book. I'm posting the revised poem for Banned Books Week 2009 (September 26th-October 3rd). BTW, I’ve left off the final couplet that was included in the original poem: Who’s got a solution antidotal/For the current row o’er something scrotal?.

Book Talkby Elaine Magliaro

Dressed in uniforms of blue,The word police arrived at two.With laser eyes, they scanned our pagesAnd locked our naughty words in cages.Then up we cried: “You’ve taken text!Will you remove our pictures next?”“Your pictures?” one policeman said.“We only take the stuff that’s read.Your naughty words must be excised.Let all your authors be advisedTo watch their words when they composeTheir poetry…and all their prose.”Warning given…the men in blueThen turned to leave. They bid adieu.We books now left with words deletedFeel somehow, sadly, incompleted.

Turley writes in his post: The film has been the target of creationists, who remind distributors that only 39 percent of Americans believe in evolution. Jeremy Thomas, the producer of Creation, notes “[t]he film has no distributor in America. It has got a deal everywhere else in the world but in the US, and it’s because of what the film is about. People have been saying this is the best film they’ve seen all year, yet nobody in the US has picked it up.”

A British film about Charles Darwin has failed to find a US distributor because his theory of evolution is too controversial for American audiences, according to its producer.

Creation, starring Paul Bettany, details Darwin's "struggle between faith and reason" as he wrote On The Origin of Species. It depicts him as a man who loses faith in God following the death of his beloved 10-year-old daughter, Annie.

The film was chosen to open the Toronto Film Festival and has its British premiere on Sunday. It has been sold in almost every territory around the world, from Australia to Scandinavia.However, US distributors have resolutely passed on a film which will prove hugely divisive in a country where, according to a Gallup poll conducted in February, only 39 per cent of Americans believe in the theory of evolution.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

I don’t know how many of you saw Mara Bartiromo—aka the “Money Honey” of CNBC—talking with Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) about health care on MSNBC the other day. If you didn’t see her, you may want to check out the following video. Listen to Maria ask Weiner—a man in his forties—why, if he thinks Medicare is so good, he’s not on the plan! OY! How dumb is dumb?

BTW, I’m working on my new invention—the Bartirometer, a scale we can use to determine just how clueless some of the “talking heads” on TV really are. Of course, Maria would be at the top of my scale, which will give highest scores to the most ignorant individuals.

Weiner Sets Bartiromo Straight on Health Care Reform

Well…after watching Maria in the above video, I was inspired to write a song parody in her honor. Here is my version of Maria—with apologies to Stephen Sondheim who wrote the original lyrics.

Maria…Asked the stupidest question I ever heard.Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria…Her query to Anthony Weiner was so absurd!Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria…MARIA!I just heard a girl named MariaSay something that’s so dumb.I think her brain’s gone numb.Oui, oui!Maria!I just saw a girl named MariaOn MSNBC.She’s clueless as can be…Ain’t she?Maria!Say it loud: She’s the Money HoneyWho’s so ignorant that it’s truly funny.

Maria,I’ll never stop laughing…Maria!

The most bodacious bimbo I ever heard.Maria.

Here are the original lyrics by Sondheim:

MARIATONY (spoken)Maria . . . (sings)The most beautiful sound I ever heard: Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria . . .All the beautiful sounds of the world in a single word . . Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria . . . Maria! I've just met a girl named Maria, And suddenly that name Will never be the same To me.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

I know the following poem isn't about politics--but I'm posting it here anyway. Anyone else out there with not-so-fond memories of parochial school???

I wrote the poem for Tricia’s Monday Poetry Stretch - Back to School. My contribution is a wee bit dark. I attended a strict parochial elementary school in the 1950s. It was a drab, depressing place with dark corridors, desks and chairs screwed to the classroom floors, and bathrooms in the building’s damp basement. I became a school phobic...soon after I arrived on my first day of first grade.

Yes, I take the nuns to task in my poem—but I do understand the poor ladies were dealing with classes of approximately fifty children. I can only imagine what their daily lives were like in the convent that stood adjacent to my school. The nuns were often treated as second class citizens—as are most women—by the Catholic Church.

A Back to School Poemby Elaine Magliaro

Even though the sun seared the skyon the Tuesday after Labor Day,I buttoned my stiffly starched blouse with puffed sleeves and Peter Pan collar…then slid on the green serge jumperthat pricked my skin with woolly thorns.Above my heartthe diamond-shaped badge blazed SJS in gold.I was a student at Saint John’s School—a good Catholic girl bound up in dogmawho could recite lengthy answersfrom the Baltimore catechism by heart,who never ate meat on Friday,who went to Mass every day before school during Lent,who invented sins when forced to confess my transgressionsto a priest in the bowels of our church,who dared not disobey the nuns.Oh, the nuns—dark angels of my innocence,their foreheads wrapped tightly in white wimples,their bodies draped in layers of black cloth,their shaved heads covered with veilsthat spread out like ravens’ wings when they strodedown the dark corridors of our school.These were the good sisters of discipline and doctrinewho did their holy best to crush my spirit,to haunt my dreams,to wipe the joy and exuberance from my childhoodwith talk of Lucifer and mortal sin and eternal damnation.

It was September 4, 1956,my first day of fifth grade.Dressed in crisp cotton and scratchy wool,a large drawstring bag slung over my shoulder,I trudged off to school under a scorching sunwith a heavy load—holy books, a metal lunchbox, bad memories—and a prayer:Good Lord Jesus,help me to survive another yearof this parochial purgatory.

Friday, August 14, 2009

It’s been an especially busy summer for me. I’ve spent the past few days packing, shopping, and preparing food for our third trip to Maine on today. I thought I’d repost a poem about Glenn Beck that appeared at Political Verses several months ago. Beck has been in the news a lot lately. He called President Obama a racist on FOX TV recently—and because of that he’s lost several sponsors of his show. Hallelujah! Sometimes good things DO happen.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Here’s a follow-up to Sarah Palin: A Farewell Speech and Poem, my post last Wednesday at Political Verses that included a link to William Shatner performing an excerpt from Sarah Palin’s farewell speech as poetry on the Conan O’Brien Show. On July 29th, Shatner made a return appearance on the show...and recited some of Sarah Palin’s tweets as poetry. Here’s a link to that segment on the Conan O’Brien Show:

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

I call Palin’s speeches WTF prose (to myself) because I can never figure out the points she is trying to make in them. I find my brain meandering in the morass of her excess verbiage when I’m trying to comprehend what she’s attempting to tell people who are listening to her oral streams of consciousness. I wonder: Does she even have a clue what she’s saying?

You’ve got to see the following video of William Shatner performing an excerpt from Sarah Palin’s farewell speech on the Conan O’Brien Show.

Okay…now I get it. Palin’s not writing prose—she’s writing poetry. That’s makes it all clear to me now. Walt Whitman, scooch over! You too, Carl Sandburg! Make room for Sarah Palin in the pantheon of American poets.

Here’s an excerpt from Sarah Palin’s farewell political poem:

And getting up hereI sayit is the best road tripin Americasoaring through nature’s finest show.Denali, the great one,soaring under the midnight sun.And then the extremes.In the winter time it’s the frozen roadthat is competingwith the view of ice fogged frigid beauty,the cold though,doesn’t it split the Cheechakos from the Sourdoughs?And then in the summertimesuch extreme summertimeabout a hundred and fifty degreeshotter than just some months ago,than just some months from now,with fireweed blooming along the frost heavesand merciless rivers that are rushing and carvingand reminding us that here, Mother Nature wins.It is as throughout all Alaskathat big wild good life teeming along the roadthat is north to the future.

Click here to read the full text of Sarah Palin’s farewell speech. (Text provided by The Mudflats blog.)

Oh, if only I could write poetry like that!

If I only had the abilityto combine random thoughtsinto an incoherent mélangeof mile-long mutteringsthat captures the essenceof my poet’s soul.If only I couldpen poemswith a strong and perceptive handabout tiny, delicate, vicious little starletstrying to take away our right to bear arms.If only I couldwrite like Sarah doeswith heart and estrogenic machismoabout subjects like hunting and skinning big gamefor lunch and sustenance.Oh, to write poetry like Palin!It’s not politics, I mean…poetry, as usual!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Watching Sarah Palin resign the other week, I remembered how frustrating it is to listen to her speak. She uses simple words, but combines them into a fog that's hard to penetrate, out of which a few political clichés like "freedom" and "reform" appear. Most politicians, of course, obfuscate to some degree, but Palin is a master, and she does it constantly. Look at how she turns a simple statement into a mind-numbing puzzle (this is from Hart Seely's terrific collection of found poems taken from actual Sarah Palin quotes):

You know, Small mayors, Mayors of small towns-- Quote, unquote--They're on the front lines.

A quick analysis reveals why understanding Palin can be such a challenge. She follows a folksy "you know" with a clear misstatement--"small mayors"--which she follows with a clarification, which she then amends with the inexplicable "quote, unquote." By the time she gets to her point--that small town mayors are on the front lines (which she could have simply said)--one is too bogged down in misstatements, repetitions, poor syntax and folksiness to know what to think. This is, no doubt, why her interviewers often look a bit stunned, jaw slightly agape, when Palin finishes answering a question: they don't have a clear idea of what she said.

After listening to Palin’s resignation speech a few weeks ago, I was inspired to write a poem entitled Sarah Palin’s Swan/Duck/Goose Song. (You can read that poem here.) Soon after writing that verse, an idea for a parody of Ramblin’ Rose, a song made famous by the late Nat King Cole, popped into my head. You’ll find that parody, Ramblin’ Prose, below. The rhythm may be off a bit in my version--what the heck! But first…I thought you might want to listen to the original version of the song as sung by Cole in the following video:

Ramblin’ Rose Sung by Nat King Cole

Ramblin’ Prose: A Song Parody about Sarah Palin’s Resignation Speech

Ramblin’ prose, ramblin’ proseWhat you’re sayin’ no one knows.Your speech is inchoate—needs more work.It’s just a mishmash of ramblin’ prose.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Here is an excerpt from Frances Richey’s website about her book:When Frances Richey's son, Ben, a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and a Green Beret, went on the first of his two deployments to Iraq, Richey began to write. The Warrior is her urgent and intensely personal exploration of what a mother is feeling as her only son goes off to war, as she says good-bye to him, misses him, prays for him, and waits for him to come home.

At the heart of this memoir in verse lies a mother's love for her son-a son from whom she feels distant both literally and metaphorically, for she is opposed to the war but nevertheless realizes that she needs to understand and support the choices he has made.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Jay Bybee has been called the "forgotten man" in the mounting furor over the CIA's harsh interrogation of imprisoned terror suspects — but he's quickly assuming a leading role. Though the mild-mannered lawyer has attracted little public attention, as a top Justice Department official he approved an array of so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques" against alleged al-Qaeda members that many observers call torture. They include forcing prisoners to stay awake for a week or more, waterboarding them and trapping them with an insect to exploit their fear of bugs.

Bye-bye, Bybee

Bye-bye, Bybee—You so-and so—It’s time you were benched.It’s time to go.

Return your robe—And your gavel, too!Judgment day is hereFor you and Yoo.

Bybee did not write the torture memo he signed; it was written by John Yoo, then at the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel and currently a law school professor who writes a monthly column for The Inquirer. Bybee just signed off on the memo, two desks removed from the torture chamber. Did he even read it? He must have. Did he think much about it? How could he have, and then signed such an abhorrent thing? This is evil thoughtlessness. […]

Judge Jay Bybee finally "broke his silence" and talked to the New York Times about his legal memos which authorized torture. This past weekend, the Washington Post quoted anonymous friends of Bybee claiming that Bybee was apologetic for authoring the memos. Speaking for himself, Bybee said that's not the case:

[H]e said: “The central question for lawyers was a narrow one; locate, under the statutory definition, the thin line between harsh treatment of a high-ranking Al Qaeda terrorist that is not torture and harsh treatment that is. I believed at the time, and continue

About Me

I worked as an elementary school teacher for more than three decades and as a school librarian for three years. I also taught a children's literature course at Boston University from 2002-2008. I served on the advisory board of the Keene State College Children’s Literature Festival from 2006-2008 and as a member of the NCTE Poetry Committee from 2009-2012. I am now retired and write poetry for children. "Things to Do," my first children's book, will be published by Chronicle Books in February of 2017.